Ushuaia 4-6 April

We returned by bus to El Calafate and flew to Ushuaia, the principal port on the island of Tierra del Fuego on the southernmost tip of the continent - almost the end of the world! The town is situated on the shore of the Beagle Channel (named after the ship HMS Beagle that brought Darwin to this area for the first time in 1833), beyond which lies Cape Horn and the Antarctic Peninsula.



Spent a couple of days here hiking in the Tierra del Fuego National Park’s forests and took a memorable boat trip to see cormorants, seals and sea lions. The seals and sea lions, whilst basking in the sun, really looked like they were posing for the cameras, hilarious and amazing to see them so close and in their natural habitat.






Ummmmmm....It´s empty, we drank it all... think it´s time to leave..

El Chalten 2nd/3rd April

El Chalten - home to Cerre Torre and Mount Fitzroy in the Los Glaciares National Park. We were greeted by a very enthusiastic park ranger, beautiful weather (again!!) and fantastic views. We met with Leo, our guide for the two days and headed off into the mountains..

El Calafate/Perito Moreno Glacier 31 March/1st April

Upon leaving the park, we also bid farewell to Chile and crossed the border into Argentina, heading for the town of El Calafate, situated on the southern border of Lake Argentino. It is a tourist town enabling access to the Los Glacieres National Park, in particular visits to the stunning Perito Moreno Glacier.

The glacier is huge, as tall as a tower block and the walkways and boat trip enable you to get quite close - it was a bit chilly!

Torres del Paine, 28-30 March

Flew to Puerto Natales and drove into the National Park Torres del Paine (Blue Towers..), the most dramatic scenery so far. A catamaran transported us into the heart of the park where we stayed in a hostel for 3 nights. Again, amazing weather and we walked the Valle del Frances and Glacier Grey treks. The Guanaco roam freely all over the park and this one stood still long enough for a decent photograph! The mixed dorms were an interesting experience with 6 beds in each room and there was some unwelcome excitement amongst the ladies when Eric, our park guide was apparently spotted in the ladies showers...

Chiloé Island, 26 March

"From the archipelago you have hair of larch fibres flesh that was realized by aeons of time, veins that have known oceans of timber, green blood dropped from the sky into memory . No one can recapture my heart, lost among so many roots, in the bitter cool of the sun´s rays multiplied by seething of waters: there lives the shadow that does not depart with me. So you rose out of the South like an islet, crowned, populated, by plumage and timber, and I sensed the fragrance of wandering woodland. I found the dark honey I knew in the forest, and touched at your hips the petals of shadow that were born with me and that formed my soul" P. NERUDA (hundred love sonnets)

Chiloé is the second largest Chilean island and is steeped in myth and legend. The two snakes represent the forces of good and bad, the constant battle between the rising ocean and the defending land. We took a ferry and spent the day there, tasting fresh oysters, visiting some of the many wooden built churches and also a short boat trip to see penguins, sea otters and cormorants. The traditional dish of ´Curanto´was a real experience and extremely delicious..

Ummm.. I think too much pisco sour ladies....

Puerto Varas - Petrohue Falls, 25-26 March

Puerto Varas is a lake-side town with fabulous views of the Osorno volcano on a clear day. We took a short drive around the lake to the Petrohué Falls.

Pucon, 23-24 March

This is Pucon in the Lake District and as you can see

from this photograph, we are being blessed with amazing weather

and able to get stunning views of the active Villarica Volcano!

Spent the day trekking in the Huerquehue National Park with beautiful lakes and waterfalls. After a very long day trekking, pisco sour (one or two!) and pizza was the order of the day...

Santiago\Valparaiso, 21-22 March

Arrived in Santiago on Sunday and having met the rest of the group we headed into the city for a wander, all looking very much the ´tourist´part.. Earthquake damage is apparent with cracks in bridges (worryingly now held together with just small iron plates), buildings and piles of rubble at the side of roads. Very little historic architecture (due to previous earthquakes!) but a good introduction to Chile and we ended the day with a pisco sour and dinner in a revolving restaurant overlooking the city.



Our next stop, the port of Valparaiso, north west of Santiago with a short visit to a vineyard on the way (the Casablanca Valley)...ummm early morning wine tasting, an excellent start to the day - Chilean wine is scrummy!






Valparaiso is a large sprawling city, very colourful with houses painted in all colours and an abundance of elaborate grafitti!! Heading south today to start our Patagonia journey.